Monday, August 13, 2012

I can only assume that the myriad of hits I daily receive from trans females seeking answers to their various vaginal issues post testosterone use, is due to the increase in Trans Trending. I've no doubt that their ignorance about the effects of testosterone use on their vagina's is because the medical community has completely suspended their medical ethics where the notion of transition is concerned. And instead is ushering confused young females right from a few "gender therapist" appointments roughshod into testosterone injections with little to no education of its effects on their most intimate body parts!

There are three reoccurring questions that trans females are wanting answers for:

1) Does testosterone cause vaginal dryness? Answer: Yes it most certainly does. It also thins the vaginal wall causing painful penetration even with lube. The thinning and dryness can also cause occasional bleeding. It is best to use an estrogen cream to help maintain your vagina's natural elasticity.

2) Does testosterone use cause yeast infections? Answer: Yes it can and often does with many trans females. This is due to the changes in PH levels that testosterone use creates in the vagina which requires very constant natural yeast environs.

3) Can testosterone use cause my vagina to smell? Answer: Yes. In most cases this is from developing a case of bacterial vaginosiswhich similarly is caused from changes to the vagina's natural Lactobacillus bacteria levels from testosterone use. Unlike a yeast infection which can be treated over the counter, BV must be treated with antibiotics because it is a bacterial infections.

Along with these questions, what trans females should also be asking is, why the Male Medical Machine hasnt provided them with the answers BEFORE starting them on testosterone!

30 comments:

3. This is more bullshit based on assumptions and "old wive's tales". The side effects may be somewhat true for some but not true for everyone. Hormones can cause acne too, but changing your diet can stop the acne. Same thing with other conditions.

Anyone who has a question about testosterone can get an accurate answer from a professional in the medical field. Why in the world would amyone who is serious about transitioning ask YOU any DAMN THING?!

Dirt is right on this post about the effects of T on a vagina.My spouse is a natal female on T and ze experianced these issues. The cure was also mentioned by Dirt. A low dose estrogene vaginal cream. Fixed my sweety right up. Just enough estrogene to maintain vaginal health with out throwing hir masculinization off.

cynthias post brought up something interesting, Dirt, how do you feel about gender neutral pronouns? ze, hir, etc. and this whole natal female on T, so they are a NON trans female, who is also taking T? (to masculanize hirself to look more male? to present as male but identify as female?) additionally dont all these types of things occur to women in menopause as well?

"cynthias post brought up something interesting, Dirt, how do you feel about gender neutral pronouns? ze, hir, etc. and this whole natal female on T, so they are a NON trans female, who is also taking T? (to masculanize hirself to look more male? to present as male but identify as female?) additionally dont all these types of things occur to women in menopause as well?"

What exactly is a natal female on T? Isn't this just a genetic female who takes testosterone? Why can't people call "T" testosterone? How did we come to the point that a hormone essential to the male reproductive system came to be symbolized by a single letter "T" by biological females who take it to appear outwardly masculine? It's kind of like Orwellian speak to me. Testosterone is produced in the testes in males. Women produce very small amounts of testosterone, but never the amount that males produce.

As to ze, hir, etc, why is being a female so utterly repugnant to some people? Are the words "she" or "her" so offensive? I don't have anything against the use of "ze", "hir" if that is what makes people comfortable, but I can't understand why people are so offended by being called female or her.

"additionally dont all these types of things occur to women in menopause as well?"

Vaginal dryness does come with menopause which all women will eventually go through if they live long enough. Reduced estrogen levels are the main cause of vaginal dryness. Vaginal dryness can lead to yeast infections and bacterial vaginosis. Estrogen helps keep vaginal tissue healthy by maintaining normal vaginal lubrication, tissue elasticity and acidity. These factors create a natural defense against vaginal and urinary tract infections. But when estrogen levels decrease, so does this natural defense, leading to a thinner, less elastic and more fragile vaginal lining. Estrogen is very important in keeping the tissues of the vagina lubricated and healthy. Normally, the lining of the vagina makes a clear, lubricating fluid. The right amount of natural lubrication and the PH makes vaginas very happy. Thinning or shrinking of the vaginal tissue causes dryness and inflammation. Menopause which women in their late forties and early fifties experience will occur as a normal part of the female life cycle. There is no choice involved in the natural process of menopause. When nineteen or twenty year old FTMs take high enough levels of testosterone, they could be making their vaginas as dry as fifty year old post menopause women. In this case, it's a choice to have a dry vagina.

There are a lot of other health related issue involved in testosterone besides vaginal dryness such as a male balding pattern, acne, elevated liver levels, polycythemia, increased red blood cell count, elevated lipid profile, hypertension, and PCOS. I suppose PCOS, elevated lipid profile, or elevated liver levels would be more problematic than vaginal dryness which can be relieved with small amounts of low dose estrogen cream, or another cream for dryness.

Please don't take my word for it. Instead, I urge everyone to ask a physician or look it up. If people really want answers, then get a second or third opinion.

Anon@3:52pm, the post is clearly aimed at trans females who do have questions/troubles about/with their vaginas, not females who do not. If you're vagina is happy and trouble free and you are happy with her, great. Sadly that isnt the case for every trans female.

e, what the fuck does that have do with vaginas? Is that how you spend your time? Creeping around looking at trans people's sites? Is that the form of your activism? Do you think I could find any wackadoodle lesbian blogs out there in the ether? Sometimes I think you make good points, but then you act like a catty little bitch. WTF?

If you want to stalk transpeople, take a look here:

http://www.balian-buschbaum.de/galerie/wie-mich-die-welt-sieht.html

I'm just gonna sit back and wait for Dirt to claim that this guy still looks just like the "woman" he is. Fuck that, and fuck you. Y'all are demented.

um, ok! i haven't even visited this blog in a while, checked to see what this 'cynthia lee' is about with all the made up pronouns and all, said something about it (far more childish than me is this pink vs. blue mentality) and you feel sorry for me? whatever... we all do know there is a tiny percentage of transpeople who mostly 'pass' as their target sex, especially when behaving in a very stereotypical fashion.

First, I don't know this individual in the link, but I would like to make a few comments. People can't peer into one's own biochemistry or change one's own genes. Outward appearances aren't the same as looking deep into one's own cells. If a human is born female, no amount of testosterone or surgery can change this individual's genes. With a steady source of external testosterone, any genetic female will develop muscles like a male. By the way, I noticed that e said, "I'm just gonna sit back and wait for Dirt to claim that this guy still looks just like the "woman" he is." Apparently, looking like a woman or looking like a man is all that matters. What exactly does looking like a woman or looking like a man mean? Isn't this just the stereotypical view of how men and women should appear?

Again, I don't know this individual in the link. If this person is a genetic female, no amount of testosterone can change this individual's genes. How would this person appear without an external source of testosterone? Since females don't naturally produce the same amount of testosterone as males, and males produce their testosterone in their testes, there is a possibility of side effects when females take large doses of testosterone. Please look at my earlier post about side effects of testosterone.

"Fuck that, and fuck you. Y'all are demented."

Thank you for the compliment and kind words.

Finally, if this person in the link is a transman, not all transmen look this way by any means.

"If this person is a genetic female, no amount of testosterone can change this individual's genes."

And how, exactly, do you suppose that should matter to any us, when genes do not dictate how we are seen, how we look, how we feel? The dose of testosterone we take is not large, because excess dosage will convert to estrogen anyway. The testosterone I take is synthesized from yams, by the way.

You should ask Dirt about what looking like a woman or a man means, since she is always the one claiming we don't pass, or that she can clearly see our femininity, or our "female selves" or some bullshit like that. Since many of us are at peace with our bodies, it really seems like *you* who are so stuck on this stuff. We know we (well most of us) have female genes, were born female (whatever that means to you), and have, or had, vaginas. Since we are the ones who transitioned, we are the ones who processed that information and took steps to address it in whatever way felt appropriate. If you are having trouble or going slow processing this, you might want to keep it to yourself until you learn how NOT to take other people's lives personally.

Finally, yes, Balian Buschbaum is a out trans man. He is very handsome. Does every dyke look like Shane from the L word? Does every straight guy look like Brad Pitt? That's just stupid.

This is all right on the money. I'm happy to say that my healthcare provider not only told me about these risks, but quizzed me to make sure I knew and understood them before even considering letting me take testosterone. Thanks for the very informative post, dirt.

"And how, exactly, do you suppose that should matter to any us, when genes do not dictate how we are seen, how we look, how we feel? The dose of testosterone we take is not large, because excess dosage will convert to estrogen anyway."

As to the testosterone, perhaps this is one reason PCOS is a concern for FTMs. PCOS polycystic ovarian syndrome has been linked to increased risk of endometrial hyperplasia (a condition that occurs when the lining of the uterus (endometrium) grows too much) and thus endometrial cancer, as well as ovarian cancer. Yes, some excees testosterone will be converted to estrogen. An external source of synthetic testosterone is being introduced into the female body on a routine basis for essentially life. Now, let’s stop and think about this for a moment. Where are the rigorous long term studies? The human female body really isn't designed for that much testosterone. Historically, this is not something scientists have seen, and it’s definetly not seen in primates. There is also the issue of finding just the dosage of testosterone. Unlike testosterone that is produced naturally in the human body, synthetic testosterone is created in a laboratroy. I didn't know that testosterone can be synthesized from yams. It almost sounds natural, but if people really really knew what goes on in labs, it's not so natural after all. A lot of scientists and researchers use genetically modified plants. This is no secret, and it has been going on for years. I seriously doubt if the yams or soybeans used to synthesize testosterone in a labratory would be derived from plants found in farmer John's organic vegetable garden.

I'm happy to say that my healthcare provider not only told me about these risks, but quizzed me to make sure I knew and understood them before even considering letting me take testosterone.”

I applaud anyone who educates him or herself. I'm glad this person tried to get as much information as possible. Wise decision. Unfortunately, not everyone has access to the best medicine or has the best health insurance.

If a young woman was determined enough and resourceful enough, she could probably find testosterone online.

This is an online post:

Buying testosterone online?

First of all, I don’t want to hear about the dangers and risks of buying testosterone online without a prescription. I am well aware of everything and do not need to be talked out of it. I do not have the money to pay for gender therapy and an endo on top of rent, car insurance, gas, daily needs and saving up to move out of my house on a minimum wage job and I have only received two donations with a total of $8 and I can’t handle being pre-t anymore.

So, has anyone bought testosterone online? I do not want to get ripped off and I don’t want to take topical gels or pills because they won’t be sufficient enough for me. If you know any good websites where I can buy testosterone and actually receive the testosterone without getting ripped off, please contact me here.

I am medical provider who works in gynecology, and someone who has personally taken testosterone. There are changes to the vagina with testosterone usage. However, everyone's experience is different, and to use the wording as stated in the post is presumptive and assume that this will happen to everyone, which is not true. Your pH will adjust with time, but there may be some discomfort in that process, mostly from problems adapting to dryness. Similar problems occur with post-menopausal patients, especially during penetrative sex, and the lining of the vaginal canal becomes thinner, however, the symptoms that you stated above, Dirt, are not as a result of elevate testosterone. Now, this can be completely counteracted with localized estrogen, which will not affect whole body testosterone levels. Please do not act as a medical professional on the internet when you are not one, and for anyone reading this post, please speak with your medical provider before considering any kind of hormone therapy.

my significant other, who has been on T for a few months, is actually much wetter than before so the dryness thing is very individual, so is yeast infections, which my partner has been experiencing less of since starting T. not saying T is a good thing, just commenting that it might have the oppostie effects as well and some of those might not be desireable either.

The whole "trans trending" thing is so idiotic. You sound like the basic old homophobe who says that being gay is trending and there used to not be as many gay people. Trans people are feeling more comfortable now so more of them are coming out. Stop acting like this is a take over.